The February–March Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) topic is the public health approach to violence prevention. In addition to the newsletter, DSG will host a Webinar on an overview of the public health approach, featuring experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This Webinar, to be held Wednesday, March 2, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. EST, will be available to the National Forum, Community-Based Violence Prevention, and Defending Childhood sites (see, under Training Opportunities, MORE).

But that was before Safer Tomorrows, a Defending Childhood Initiative project to reduce children’s exposure to violence that is spearheaded by the city of Grand Forks, its public school system, the Community Violence Intervention Center, and Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota. Today, Grand Forks schools are in line with the national average, and Safer Tomorrows continues its work to bring the rate closer to zero.

Save the Dates: National Summit Slotted for June 27–29The Fifth National Summit on Youth Violence Prevention has been targeted for June 27–29—a Monday, a Tuesday, and a Wednesday. Details are forthcoming.

Funding Opportunities

Agriculture Dept., Dairy Council, NFL Make $35M Available to Schools for Healthier Meals

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—in conjunction with the National Dairy Council, and the NFL—is making $35 million in grants available to help schools upgrade their kitchen equipment and infrastructure to offer students better access to nutritious foods.

Though more than 30 million children rely on the USDA’s National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program for one or two meals a day, most schools lack at least one piece of equipment needed to serve healthier foods. The funds are earmarked for helping schools purchase additional equipment to help them meet updated national nutrition standards and serve healthy meals with more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and lowfat dairy, and with less sodium and fat.

The National Forum, Community-Based Violence Prevention, and Defending Childhood sites are invited to a March 2 Webinar on the public health approach to violence prevention, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. EST. Neil Rainford and Reshma Mahendra from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will present on CDC’s violence prevention initiatives and the fundamentals of implementing a public health approach to preventing youth violence.

Though residents play a critical role in preventing violence and advancing community safety, they are an underused asset to these ends. Social cohesion—the extent that neighbors know one another, are connected to their community and their environment, and feel a sense of power and autonomy—can be a powerful protective factor against violence. The city of Boston, Mass., has realized this potential and enlisted social cohesion as a means to protect the health and well-being of all its residents, with a particular emphasis on communities that are most vulnerable.

With commitments from the mayor, the health commissioner, and the police commissioner in 2007, Boston launched a plan to address community violence. Recognizing that resident engagement was critical to informing the initiative, volunteers joined forces with more than a hundred city staff from across multiple agencies to knock on doors, introduce the initiative, and find out what was important to residents in terms of violence prevention.

Youth and community members come together to share their visions and ideas as part of Boston’s VIP Initiative.

Epidemiologic Reviews Releases Special Issue on Gun Violence PreventionThe public health journal Epidemiologic Reviews released a special issue this past week entirely on gun violence prevention and policy research. The issue features nine different review articles authored by many of the nation’s top academics in gun violence research.

Fayetteville, N.C., Police Officer Describes How He Uses Evidence-Based Research Daily on the JobCapt. James Nolette of the Fayetteville (N.C.) Police Department, a 2014 National Institute of Justice LEADS (for Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science) scholar, has authored a fascinating and pithy piece about how his department incorporates research into practice through programs like COMPSTAT and global positioning monitoring to reduce crime and better help the public. Read the five-page piece here.

The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Newsletter is prepared under Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Cooperative Agreement No. 2014–MU–MU–K021 with Development Services Group, Inc.

The views, opinions, and content of this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of OJJDP.